222 
DIFFICULTY WITH THE GUIDES 
but a terrible sense ©f sinking came back with the feeling 
of safety. The same demand of payment for leave to pass 
was mado on the 20th by old Ionga Panza as by the other 
Chiboquo. I offered the shell presented by Shinte, but 
Ionga Panza said ho was too old for ornaments. We might 
have succeeded very woll with him, for he was by do 
means unreasonable, and had but a very small village of 
supporters; but our two guides from Kangenko compli- 
cated our difficulties by sending for a body of Bangala 
traders, with a view to force us to sell the tusks of Seke- 
letu and pay them with the price. Wo offered to pay 
them handsomely if they would perform their promise of 
guiding us to Cassango, but they knew no more of the 
paths than we did; and my men had paid them repeatedly 
and tried to get rid of them, but could not. They now 
joined with our onemies, and so did the traders. Two 
guns and some beads belonging to the latter were standing 
in our encampment, and the guides soized them and ran 
off. As my men knew that wo should be called upon to 
replace them, they gave chase, and when the guides saw 
that they would be caught they threw down the guns, 
directed their flight to the village, and rushed into a hut. 
The doorway is not much higher than that of a dog’s ken- 
nel. One of the guides was reached by one of my men as 
he was in the act of stooping to get in, and a cut was 
inflicted on a projecting part of the body which would havo 
made any one in that posturo wince. The guns wero 
restored, but tho beads wero lost in the flight. All I had 
remaining of my stock of beads could not replace those 
lost ; and, though wo explained that wo had no part in the 
guilt of the act, the traders replied that wo had brought 
the thieves into the country ; these were of tho Bangala, 
who had been accustomed to plague the Portuguese in tho 
most vexatious way. We wore striving to get a passage 
through tho country, and, feeling anxious that no crime 
whatever should be laid to our charge, tried the oontub* 
